Charles Drew
(1904 - 1950)
By Bob Bankard
phillyBurbs Special Sections
Charles Richard Drew was born in Washington DC
on June 3, 1904 to Richard and Nora Drew. He
attended Amherst College, where he became an
all-American football player. Amherst College, at
that time, was one of the few white colleges who
accepted sizable numbers of black students.
In 1926, after graduation from Amherst, Drew took
a job at Morgan College as a biology teacher and
athletics director.
Earning his money coaching athletes, Drew then returned to college to
receive his medical degree. He graduated from McGill University's medical
program, and took his internship and residency in Canada. Afterwards, he
became a teacher of pathology in Howard College, and a resident at
Freedman's Hospital in Washington DC. He then worked and taught in New
York, at the Columbia-Presbyterian hospital, receiving his Doctorate from
Columbia University.
His dissertation was on the condition of blood stored in blood banks, and the
method of storing blood as plasma (sans white or red blood cells) to
increase storage life. He then supervised the blood-plasma division of New
York City's Blood Transfusion Association, which was involved in collecting
blood for the British Army.
When America went to war in 1941, Drew was named as director of the
blood bank for the National Research Council, collecting blood for the US
army and navy, and setting the groundwork for the Red Cross collecting and
banking procedures. In 1942, Drew returned to Washington DC., where he
became head of Howard University's department of Surgery and chief
surgeon at Freedman's Hospital. In 1944, he was elevated to hospital chief
of staff and medical director, a position he held until 1948. He was killed in
an automobile accident in 1950, on the way to a medical conference.
The storage of blood in plasma form has saved untold lives since Drew
brought the process forward in the thirties, and he created the model for
blood and plasma storage that is used by the Red Cross even today. His
importance to modern medicine cannot be overstated.
Reading level: 12.5
Charles Drew
(1904 - 1950)
By Bob Bankard
phillyBurbs Special Sections
Charles Richard Drew was born in Washington
DC on June 3, 1904. His parents were Richard
and Nora Drew. He attended Amherst College.
He became an all-American football player.
Amherst College was one of the few white
colleges who accepted numbers of black
students.
In 1926, Drew took a job at Morgan College. He
was a biology teacher and athletics director.
He earned money coaching athletes. Drew then returned to college to
receive his medical degree. He graduated from McGill University's medical
program. He took his internship and residency in Canada. Afterwards, he
became a teacher of pathology in Howard College. He was a resident at
Freedman's Hospital in Washington DC. He then worked and taught in
New York, at the Columbia-Presbyterian hospital, receiving his Doctorate
from Columbia University.
His dissertation was on the condition of blood stored in blood banks. He
developed a method of storing blood as plasma (sans white or red blood
cells) to increase storage life. He then supervised the blood-plasma
division of New York City's Blood Transfusion Association. They were
involved in collecting blood for the British Army.
When America went to war in 1941, Drew was named as director of the
blood bank for the National Research Council. They collected blood for the
US army and navy. This set the groundwork for the Red Cross collecting
and banking procedures. In 1942, Drew returned to Washington DC.,
where he became head of Howard University's department of Surgery
and chief surgeon at Freedman's Hospital. In 1944, he was elevated to
hospital chief of staff and medical director. He held this position until
1948. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1950. He was on his way
to a medical conference.
The storage of blood in plasma form has saved untold lives since Drew
brought the process forward in the thirties. He created the model for
blood and plasma storage that is used by the Red Cross even today. His
importance to modern medicine cannot be overstated.
Reading level: 8.8
CUED RETELLING REPORT FORM
Main Ideas – Title: Charles Drew
Free Cued
Retell Retell
1. Charles Drew, an African American, attended Amherst College
and graduated with a biology degree.
2. He next attended McGill University for his medical degree.
3. He received his doctorate degree from Columbia University.
4. He specialized in the long term storage of blood.
5. He developed methods to store blood as plasma to increase
storage life.
6. He set the ground work for the modern day method of collecting
and storing blood used by the Red Cross today.
7. His contribution to medicine has save countless numbers of lives.
8.
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15.
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